XDA News Articles

Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and other communicators are not intended to be used as foreground applications due to their occasional use. Instead they are usually used as background apps and opened only when needed. These communicators are very popular but are still far behind SMS, which is in use by almost every phone in the world. Facebook was one of the first applications that made use of floating windows. Floating technology has become quite popular and even found its way to Sony's...

Battery life on our Android devices is something that we're always looking for ways to improve. Google has been working to minimize the battery consumption in Android but there is still a lot left to be desired. Every little way of giving a device a couple extra hours of battery life can come in handy. Wi-Fi connectivity, for example, is usually enabled all the time, even when the device is not in the network range. XDA Forum Member Xenon O came...

We've all been there at one point or another. You take out your device to open an app to look for something and you find yourself wasting about a minute fumbling through hundreds of installed apps in your device while frantically swiping up, down, left, and right in order to find the app you set out to find. This is just one instance and if you are a busy individual, the likelihood of this happening several times a day is...

Typically, all media files housed on your external storage are scanned upon boot. The service that does that is called Media Scanner, which saves its output in Media Store. Android's developers have tried hard to optimize it, but Media Scanner is still a service that drains battery quite effectively for the first few minutes following a reboot. The Media Scanner service itself doesn't offer a preferences menu, and it runs in background so you can't control it. Well, you can't do so...

Full emoji support was implemented in KitKat. It’s clear that not every device, even with a proper hardware configuration, received an update to this OS. Thus, emoji has been impossible for many to use fully. Luckily, the community can find a solution for almost everything, and we have seen it so many times through the years. The same applies to emoji on Jelly Bean ROMs. Thanks to XDA Recognized Developer niaboc79, users can send emoji smileys on Sony devices with...

Floating applications are very popular--not only here at XDA, but in Play Store as well. One of the first OEM that used floating application in its stock firmware was Sony. Small Apps are independent applications that can be used on top of other applications. For example, you can run a small calculator and perform some calculations while browsing a web page. Those apps can be launched from the small apps bar available by pressing the navigation button. Small App can...

Head Up notifications is one of these upcoming features that Android developers hid deep in the Android KitKat source code. It was discovered by the custom ROM community not too long ago, and nearly simultaneously ported to the majority of popular ROMs. This method of notifications has also been introduced as a standalone application and an Xposed Framework module. One of the most interesting alternatives to this built in hidden code was recently released by XDA Recognized Developer AChep. HeadsUp is...

Android is a Linux-based operating system, but this fact doesn't put any limitation on this OS. Android can work with other OSes really nicely thanks to many tools developed by its massive community. Back in May, we talked about Droid Sync Manager, a handy Windows-Android utility that allows users to sync files between your phone and computer. Many things have changed since then, and the project has been updated to version 2.0.6. With the version bump, lots of new features have been introduced by XDA...

In the last few months, we've talked about quite a few Sony Honami-related projects. The Sony Xperia Z1 is quite a popular device, due no doubt to its aesthetic UI that has been ported to other devices by many developers and themers. Changing the look of your device's framework to match the Honami isn't as difficult as it may initially look. The situation gets even easier with a guide by XDA Senior Member KuaQ, which thoughtfully explains the process of transformation. KuaQ's guide is place where you can...

Many applications available here on XDA that aren't available on the Google Play Store. There are usually a few reasons for their absence: Developer accounts cost money, they are too “hacky” to be acceptable on the Play Store, or simply developers don't want to release their work in the biggest app store for Android. You can find plenty such applications in the various forums we have here. Unlike some other operating systems, Android allows its users to install applications directly from internal...

Much of the joy of owning an Android device comes from being able to customize and modify the OS as we see fit. While the most impactful device modifications undoubtedly involve changing elements of the Android OS such as the kernel, ROM, and so on, a large part of the user experience can be improved by simply adding a theme. Because of this, Android theming has become quite common in the forums. Although there are thousands of themes available for various devices in the XDA...

Lately, we have seen a rather drastic shift in the world of mobile device gaming. The infamous Angry Birds series has tried to reinvent itself again and again, attempting to continue reigning supreme over all else. However, it seems that it was not really enough, and it makes sense. After all, just how many times can you possibly sling a bird at pigs without looking for something else to do? Then, came the spawn from Hell known as Flappy Birds, closely followed by...

The online world is made up of several factions, clans, communities, social media sites---whatever you want to call them. Pretty much every person in the world with Internet access belongs to at least a few of these, and if not as a member, at the very least as an everyday lurker. After all, we all need our daily dose of cats, bacon, cats with bacon, and so on. Some people prefer the social aspect of sites like Facebook. Then, after you...

In this crazy fast and modern world, we often need to supplement our memory by writing some notes. The classic paper and pen system is often not an option, especially now that this can be accomplished with our fingers and our Android devices. Android is pretty bare without third party applications, but the Play Store is huge and contains dozens of great alternative to Google's own apps. Quick Note is one alternatives to Google Keep that was presented by XDA Forum Member HeartBroken. Quick Note,...

Security in Android (or any mobile device platform) is one of the top priorities for users. Google offers a few ways of protecting your private information and device data. These range from the popular pattern unlock to the old school, yet still functional PIN code. By default the OS asks you to enter a PIN code once the device is powered on. Protecting it with just a single code may not be enough, so third party developers invented a new ways of protection every...

Are you tired of Temple Run, Despicable Me 2, and and the rest of those runner games out there? Would you like to try a simpler, yet more fluid game that will keep you hooked for a while? Then keep on reading because XDA Forum Member Karriz brings you something that will fill you with joy for a little while. The one thing that characterizes most runner games is the fact that the obstacles are either fixed or move in a very similar pattern...

Each device manufacturer normally adds their own "sauce" to flagship devices. However, these extra special features might or might not trickle down to lesser devices. Is this fair for people who may not be able to afford the extra premium for that added bit of functionality? Probably not, but that is how the world turns. This is where knowing a place by the name of XDA-Developers comes in handy. Some of our devs are committed to ensuring that any feature that would...

Just a few days ago, our XDA Developer TV Producer TK gave us a walkthrough of this little app. Ever since Motorola hit the market with their innovative Active Notifications feature, lots of devs have tried to not only mimic this functionality but also to improve it. In case you are not entirely familiar with said feature, it is basically a way to see your notifications on your lockscreen--particularly that of AOSP, which lacks native notifications. This little tool shows your...

When a phone or tablet gets stolen, not much can be done. Such situations should not occur, but the world isn't perfect and some people want things for free. When this happens, there are some tools that help you protect your private data and wipe as a last resort. Wiping data and locating your device is not everything that can be done remotely, however. XDA Senior Member leducbao has gone further and created an app that also can be used...

A few years ago when the whole Android party was starting, Google and Facebook were really closely integrated. Before Ice Cream Sandwich, users were able to see contacts synced directly from Facebook on their devices. Then, policies changed, and synchronization through the first party Facebook app was no longer possible, so people looking for contact syncing had to switch to a third party app in order to keep their contacts up-to-date. Said third party apps, despite being great, have one big disadvantage:...

XDA Developers was founded by developers, for developers. It is now a valuable resource for people who want to make the most of their mobile devices, from customizing the look and feel to adding new functionality. Are you a developer?